Reynolds: Railer one of the best at Riverside

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Posted Jul. 12, 2014 at 6:22 PM

Posted Jul. 12, 2014 at 6:22 PM

CHICAGO- One of Bradley’s top men’s basketball recruiting targets, Lincoln High School senior-to-be Gavin Block, has a pretty good feel for the Braves. But the high-scoring 6-foot-6 swingman isn’t close to making a decision about his college career.

“That might change as we get closer to the season,” Block said this weekend during the Chicago Summer Challenge AAU tournament at Riverside-Brookfield High School. “I’m just living it right now and going with the flow. I’m not feeling the pressure right now. I’m just trying to play basketball.”

Block, who averaged 15.9 points and 5.7 rebounds for the methodical Railsplitters as a junior, is the leading scorer for 17-under Net Gain, a team made up of central Illinois kids primarily from the Bloomington-Normal area.

While there are other prospects on the squad — sweet-shooting guard Jake Reinhart of Bloomington Central Catholic and versatile big man Tyler Seibring of Normal Community are garnering some looks — most of the coaches sitting in the hard bleachers at Riverside-Brookfield High School had their eyes on the kid from Lincoln.

Block has offers from Bradley, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and UMKC. All of those schools and more were showing their love for him this weekend, prominently displaying their school colors and name on their shirts.

And Block hasn’t disappointed. Besides an accurate 3-point stroke, he’s shown a great passing ability, court awareness and a knack for scoring in a variety of ways. He also exhibits visible leadership skills among his teammates.

Peorians are well aware of Block’s abilities from his performance at the Class 3A state tournament at Carver Arena. Block led the Railsplitters to a second-place finish behind Chicago Morgan Park last March.

“We really liked playing there,” he said. “Hopefully this next school year we’ll get back there and get even more familiar with it.”

Block made an unofficial visit to BU last month.

“It was good, I really liked it,” he said. “I really got to know the coaching staff very well. Hopefully we can keep the relationship going.”

That’s good news for Bradley, which can certainly use an outside shooter with Block’s size.

But as this month continues, Block’s talents will become more exposed to a wider audience. Following this weekend’s tournament, Net Gain will head to Milwaukee next weekend and then to Las Vegas for July’s final evaluation period.

Already, the big schools are noticing. Indiana assistant coach Tim Buckley was one of them in Chicago.

Block has taken an unofficial visit to Indiana and came away impressed with the attention Hoosiers coach Tom Crean and his staff showed him.

Page 2 of 3 - “Playing in the Big Ten has always been a dream of mine and hopefully that may come true,” he told Insidethehall.com following the visit. “I’ve always watched Big Ten basketball. Hopefully in the next year or so, some more Big Ten schools will get a little more interested in me.”

CHIN’S PROMOTION: Bradley assistant coach Ronald “Chin” Coleman’s first day as Bradley’s assistant head coach was a long one spent evaluating prospects in Chicago-area gyms.

“It’s so surreal,” he said. “A few years ago, I was doing this for free (as head coach of the Mac Irvin Fire). I’m thankful for the opportunity and grateful to President (Joanne) Glasser, (athletics director) Dr. (Michael) Cross and (head coach) Geno Ford for giving me the opportunity.

“I’m not just a recruiter, and they realize that. I’m a coach first and foremost. I study the game hard.”

On Friday, Coleman was promoted to his new title, while fellow assistant Jaden Uken was made the staff’s recruiting coordinator. Cole Pittis is the third BU assistant and JayDee Luster just joined the staff last week as the director of basketball operations.

“When you’re the assistant head coach, the light is magnified,” Coleman said. “You need to carry yourself as a head coach. I always work hard, but I’m going to work even harder now. It shows the trust Geno and the university have in me. I won’t let the university down.”

SUMMER BREEZE: The Chicago tournament scene — with games in Romeoville, Riverside and Oak Brook — seemed like a reunion of ex-Missouri Valley Conference head coaches. Present were Purdue head coach Matt Painter, Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings, Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber, Oregon assistant coach Kevin McKenna, Vanderbilt assistant Tom Richardson and Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. … UIC head coach Howard Moore, a former Bradley assistant, said he’s looking forward to coming back to Peoria for the Dec. 28 matchup with the Braves. “It’ll feel strange,” Moore said. “But at least our bench will be on same side of the court as when I was there.” When Moore coached at BU under Jim Molinari and Jim Les, the home bench is where the visitor’s bench is now. … New Western Illinois coach Billy Wright, the former Braves point guard, was a permanent fixture in the Chicago gyms. “I’m really embracing this (position),” he said. “It’s a great opportunity.” ... The Peoria Area Elite under-15 squad, led by Manual’s Ramon Douglas, went 3-0 in its pool play.

Page 3 of 3 - Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or dreynolds@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @davereynolds2.